


must have been the wind

by happyimhere



Category: Sam and Colby, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Concerned Neighbor Sam, Concerned Sam, Hurt Colby, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Protective Sam, You don't actually meet the boyfriend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2020-10-04 20:34:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20477084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyimhere/pseuds/happyimhere
Summary: Inspired by "Must Have Been The Wind" by Alec BenjaminSam becomes concerned for the dark-haired boy living in apartment 208





	must have been the wind

The crash was what woke him up. It sounded like glass shattering above him, and Sam thought it was his imagination until he heard the loud thud that followed. Laying still, Sam listened for more commotion. It wasn’t like this type of stuff was uncommon for the tenants above him. Since he’d moved in two months ago, there had been a variety of noises, from yelling to crashes. It sounded like two guys, and Sam figured it was two roommates who just didn’t get along very well.

“Please, I swear I won’t-“ a voice floated down through the silence, shaky and scared. Sam sat up quickly, and the following crash only pushed him out of bed and into his shoes. He knew it logically wasn’t really his business, but the guy had sounded like he was crying and what if someone had broken in? Or they fell? The situations just kept piling up as Sam rode the elevator up to the second floor, making his way down the hall to room 208, hand stilling as it moved to knock. Was this really his place? It was probably close to 2:00 am and he had just woken up. What if it was all in his head? It couldn’t hurt to check, though.

The loud knock made Sam cringe, even though his own hand made it. There was some commotion behind the door before the handle turned, and he put on his most innocent smile as it cracked open. Peeking through was a boy about his age in a sweatshirt and joggers. His hood was pulled close around his face, exposing only a bit of brown dyed blue fringe and bloodshot ocean eyes.

“Hey, you probably don’t know me, but I live in the apartment below you and I thought I heard something break or someone fall up here, and I just wanted to check in? My name’s Sam by the way, sorry if I’m being a bother.” Sam shifted from foot to foot while talking, before directing his nervous energy into surveying the boy before him. His hands were gripped tightly around the door; knuckles white from the effort and his bottom lip kept getting pulled between his teeth.

“Uhh, I’m Colby, and no yeah, I’m fine. Thanks for checking though, but it’s just my boyfriend and me here right now. We were watching a movie, maybe you heard that?” Colby glanced back inside and his face paled. “Look, I gotta get back in, wish I could tell you more but I didn’t hear anything. It could’ve just been the wind honestly.”

A bad feeling crawled into Sam’s stomach, but he couldn’t place what it was. The boy shuffled his bare feet and shot him a small smile and a goodbye, then pushed the door quietly closed. Sam wanted to knock again and demand the truth, but instead he just sighed and made his way back down the hall. The wait for the elevator seemed to stretch on forever, leaving Sam to think over what he’d found out. It wasn’t just two disagreeing roommates, it was someone sobbing out an apology to a partner. So much about the situation pointed to one answer, but Sam didn’t want to go there. Instead, he entered his own apartment, careful to listen for anything else as he headed toward his room. His neon lights gave the apartment a red glow that would normally be comforting, but he couldn’t get the image of hoodie boy (Colby, his mind supplied) looking over his shoulder with that pale face.

“Jesus Christ,” Sam mumbled, rubbing at his face roughly. This wasn’t his place. This wasn’t his place. Even if something was happening, which wasn’t certain, Sam getting involved could just make it worse for the boy.

But, his brain argued, you don’t have to get involved. Just pay a bit more attention than you were. It can’t hurt doing that. And Sam didn’t want to disagree, so he didn’t. Instead, he flopped on his bed and tried to find sleep. 

A few days went by, and Sam managed to put The Incident in the back of his mind. Until it was one pm and he was sprawled out on his floor, contemplating grabbing a hoodie to take away the cold seeping into his bones. But he couldn’t pry his eyes away from the ceiling, because directly above that, there was a boy who Sam desperately wanted to talk to. But he didn’t really know what was going on, and walking up to someone and saying “I know I’m practically a stranger but please tell me all your secrets” just seemed intrusive.

He’d turned the thought over and over in his head of simply going back up and asking again. Coming up with some excuse and settling his worries right now. But, his brain argued, if it really is a bad situation, doing something like that could get the other hurt more than staying out of it.

Dismissing the thoughts, Sam pushed himself up, grabbing onto the couch as pins and needles shot through his foot. Limping to the counter, he found his keys and slipped on his worn black vans before deciding to check the mail. He needed to get out of his apartment or he knew he would eventually talk himself into going upstairs. He hadn’t checked the mail in a few days so there should be something. Even if it was just bills that needed to be paid, it gave him a reason to get out of the house.

He had to force himself not to hop on the elevator at the end of the hallway, turning left instead and going outside to where their mail cubbies were. Mindlessly, he grabbed the few white envelopes in his, not bothering to look at what they were before turning to head back in, immediately crashing into another body.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry, are you okay?” Sam leaned towards the person who was sprawled on the ground from the collision. Then he registered the blue ends of the hair, and he regretted leaving his apartment. This is exactly what he wanted to avoid.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” Colby said, but as he leaned forward Sam saw that his hands were scratched up on the bottom from concrete. Careful not to grip on those places, Sam helped him up before apologizing profusely. His eyes roamed the boy, checking for any other markings. There didn’t seem to be anything else until he glanced at his arms again, where his black sweatshirt had been pushed up, probably by Sam’s attempts to help him up. On his left wrist there was a clear hand-shaped bruise, one that doesn’t just happen by accident. The sick feeling from earlier filled Sam again, and the words he had pushed down came bubbling back up. No one should be hurt like that.

“Hey, did you ever figure out what made that noise the other night? I’m sorry if I annoyed you,” Sam couldn’t help himself. It was like the universe was making this happen, like it wanted him to at least try and help this boy. Colby’s face paled, and his hand reached to fiddle with the cuffs of his sleeves. He didn’t seem to realize Sam had seen the bruises, more as if it was a habit.

“Uh, no no, we just headed to bed after honestly, but thanks for the concern.” The other boy’s voice was flat, and Sam took in his tense shoulders and the way his hand moved to mess with his hair.

“Okay, well if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to come down, I’m in apartment 108, it’s the one right below you. Or if you just wanna hang out, I live alone and could use some friends.” Sam could have kicked himself for the words coming out of his mouth. He might as well have said ‘I’m a lonely creep please stay away’ and it probably would have sounded better. Colby must have seen the cringe on his face, because he just laughed in response.

Then, when he opened his mouth to respond, something caught his attention over Sam’s shoulder. The happy expression that had been there melted off his face in an instant, and he quickly focused his eyes back. Shutting his mouth, he nodded at Sam and flashed him a close-lipped smile before rushing past him.

It took everything in Sam not to grab his hoodie and make him stop. Just take him back into his apartment and wrap him in a blanket and get him to talk. Because Sam didn’t need to turn around to know what, or more accurately who, Colby saw. But he couldn’t risk putting Colby in more danger if his boyfriend knew. This could all be his mind jumping to conclusions after all. That thud really could have just been the wind. At least, that’s what Sam needed to believe to go back inside and not run after the dark haired boy walking farther and farther away. 

Sam waited three hours before thinking about Colby again. Then he let himself go back over their interactions, analyzing every detail he could remember, trying to put his worries to rest. But it all pointed back to the same conclusion.

His apartment was silent, and that’s what let him hear the movement above him. It sounded like the person was vacuuming, and something inside of Sam told him it was probably Colby. Knowing that he was up there, maybe safe, maybe not, made his heart hurt. He needed something to distract him. Leaving the apartment had ended badly last time, so he just picked up his phone and opened Spotify. He needed something happy right now. Scrolling through his playlists, he settled on the one made for when he went to the beach with friends. That reminded him that they all hadn’t gone out in a while, maybe he would call them and see if they wanted to do something later.

Hitting shuffle, he waited for the song gods to choose what he needed to hear. When the first chords came out of his speakers, he felt betrayed.

“Some times in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow. But if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow. Lean on me, when you’re not strong-“ He didn’t even remember putting this song on that playlist, but it couldn’t have played at a worse, or better, time.

It dawned on him that if he could hear them though, they should be able to hear him too. So he turned the song up and faced his speaker at the ceiling, hoping that Colby could hear the words. He hoped that it made him feel that everything would be okay, and that he had someone on his side. Sam sat in his kitchen, letting the words wash over him.

After that, some pop song played and Sam turned down his music, deciding to straighten up his apartment then call his friends and see if they wanted to meet up the next day. He didn’t let himself think about anything outside of these tasks for the rest of the afternoon, and when he fell into bed that night, he didn’t have time to think about anything before he knocked out. 

He woke up to another bang from above him and his heart stopped. What was he supposed to do this time? He knew it was from their apartment, and now he was pretty certain that Colby was the center of those crashes. He should just go up there. He had to do something. What if the boyfriend doesn’t like that? His brain questioned. A fact from his high school health class floated forward. Their teacher had said that in abusive relationships, the abuser could take any interaction and twist it into the person cheating or leaving them. What if he hurt Colby more because Sam had gone up the other night? He should wait to talk to him when he was sure they wouldn’t be seen and it couldn’t turn bad. But now he couldn’t just go to sleep, that felt so wrong. Picking up his phone, he decided to do some quick googling. Google always had answers.

“What to do if you think someone is in an abusive relationship?” Sam whispered to himself as he typed it out, pressing search and praying something helpful popped up.

First was the number for the national abuse hotline, which who be helpful if he was certain or if Colby ever opened up. It was followed by several articles listing advice for the situation, and Sam clicked on the first one and started reading. About a third of the way through his second article there was a knock on his front door. It was soft enough that he thought it was his imagination until it happened again. Grabbing the shirt he had been wearing that day and struggling into it, he made his way through his living room before looking through his peephole. In the hallway was Colby, looking smaller than normal with tears running down his face.

He didn’t hesitate before unlocking his door and pulling it open, trying to look casual. He had no clue how to one was supposed to act when their neighbor/friend who they think is in an abusive relationship knocks on their door at god knows when in the morning. So he figured anything other than angry would be okay.

Once the door was open, an awkward silence filled the air, both simply staring at each other, blue meeting blue. For the first time, Sam could see open bruising on Colby poking out from the neckline and sleeves of his oversized t-shirt. The mottled purples and browns decorated his collarbones and while some looked faded, it still made Sam sick that someone, probably someone he trusted, had done that to him.

“Hey, you wanna come in? You look cold,” Sam wasn’t lying when the words came out, since Colby was shaking like a leaf. Add on the fact he was only wearing a thin shirt and equally thin joggers in their air-conditioned building, Sam felt it was a justified assumption. Colby just nodded and stepped inside, swiping at the water on his cheeks.

They ended up settled on his L shaped couch about three feet apart. Sam had given Colby his softest blanket (a grey one his mom had gotten him as an apartment gift) and watched as he wrapped it protectively around his shoulders. There was so much about this boy’s life he didn’t know, how was he ever supposed to help him?

Minutes passed as they sat in silence, the only sound when they had to reposition on the cushions.

“I’m so sorry, honestly I shouldn’t have just shown up at your apartment in the middle of the night. I can leave if you want, God I’m so fucking stupid.” The words pierced Sam’s heart in a way he didn’t know was possible, leaving him lost for words. Empty condolences floated in his head alongside excuses to leave. But he couldn’t leave, he wouldn’t leave, because Colby must feel like he could trust him if he was here. So he was going to give him something to trust.

“Look, I want you to know that I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re always welcome to come down here. You can stay here as long as you need, and I’ll be here because I also wasn’t kidding when I said I need friends. And we can talk about the other night if you want, or when you’re ready, but until then?” Sam paused, waiting for Colby to finally look up at him. “I guess it must have just been the wind, nothing else.”

**Author's Note:**

> I heard this song and just really wanted to write this fic. It's not my best because I tried to fit it to the song, but I like it. I hope you guys enjoy!


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